Improvement in potato-diggers



R. N IVEN Potato-Digger.

Patented Mar. 1. 1859.

Inventor,

bf/w V Witnesses:

AM, PHOTO-LITHO, CB. NY. (GSEURNES PRUCESS.)

UNITED STATES v PATENT EErcEO ROBERT NIVEN, OF GATES, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN POTATO-DIGGERS.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 23,ll06, dated March l, 1859.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, ROBERT N ivEN, of Gates, in the county of Monroe and State ot New York, have invented a new and Improved Machine for Digging Potatoes; and [do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference bein ghad to lthe accompanying drawings, making part ot' this specification, and to the letters ot' refer` ence marked thereon.

Figurel is a vertical section. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line a' a: otl Fig. l. Fig. Sisadetached view oftheside plate. Fig. 4 is a view ofa part of the same, showing the slot C. Fig. 5 is a detached view of the end of the axle and loose wheel, showing the application of the clutch linch-pin thereto.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all the lignres.

On the axle ot' a pair of truckwheels, A, I support a frame, B, by means of slots C in the side plates, D, which rest on the axle. These plates are lirmly bolted to the sides of the frame, and extend forward and downward, terminating in a point at F, where the two are connected by the shoe or shovel G.

A riddle or screen, H, consisting of iron rods or slats i, taking into links of an endless chain at each side, receives the potatoes and earth as they are plowed up by the scoop or shoe G, and separates the tubes, delivering them back of the machine. The riddle H traverses the pulleysj, 7c, and l, motion being given to the latter by means of the cog-rim M on thewheel A, which drives the pinion O on its shaft. A series of pendent rods, N, are attached to a transverse bar, S, directly in the rear ot the endless screen, and form a trailing riddle or screen,down which the potatoes descend easily to the ground, parting in their progress with any dirt which screen H has failed to remove, and are deposited so far behind the machine as to insure their not again becoming mixed with the earth disturbed Vby the operation of the machine, and are left in a clean condition for drying and for being picked up.

A seat, Q, is provided for the operator,wl1ich is supported by a frame starting from bearings f, which rest directly on the axis e, inside of the frame B. The slots C in the lside plates are of the sinuous form represented in Fig. 4.,

and admit of the frame, and the operating parts attached thereto, being raised to clear the shoe from earth when not required 'to operate. This is effected by means ot'` the levers R on each side, which are connected with the axle e by the collar g. Their short arms have slots l1, which are connected with pins d in the side plates. The operator, by bearing down on these levers, which are connected by a cross-rodi, so as to move simultaneously, elevates the frame, and with it the digging and separating parts de scribed, as shown by the dotted linesin Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents the lever-shaft and one of the side plates in the position they assume when elevated, and the dotted lines indicate their position when in operation. The form Vof slot C is such that it keeps the pinion in gear with the driving-wheel for a part of the distance that it is elevated for the purpose of screening and-discharging such potatoes as are on the riddle at the moment of its rising; but as it approaches lthe highest elevation it is thrown out of gear, and the machine is inoperative while it is being turned around or driven from one place to another. The opera tor has the advantage of being stationary himself on the axle e while he raises and lowers the frame B, and also ot' not having to raise his own weight by the levers. A marked peculiarity is that the pendent riddle N is raised higher than the other parts (to obviate its trailing when not in use) by the sliding of the supporting cross-bar P farther from the axis or fastening ,of the bars composing 'the riddle than the place it occupies when they are on the ground. This is accomplished by pivoting the supporting-rods of bar P to the trame at s and to the seat at t. The latter point being stationary, these rods perform the part of levers, throwing the bar P outward and upward by the raising of the frame B, by which the desired effect is produced. The shaft or axle c is attached to and revolves with the drivingwheel, (or that provided with the gearing M,) while the opposite wheel is loose, but held while the machine is advancing by the linchpin a, Fig. 5, which passes through a slot in the axle, which admits of its movingl laterally; but a coiled spring, r, or other equivalent device on the end of the axle presses it firmly accidental obstructions and from thev free to turn backward on the axle, thus preventing a twisting strain upon it, which might prove injurious, and facilitating the turning around at the end of the rows.

E is the tongue or pole to which the team is attached.

The operation of the machine is so simple as to be readily understood. The team is driven so that the row is between the truck-wheels when the shoe orscoop takes up the hill,whichis immediately carried upon the endless screen H, which separates the earth, which falls through the bars and leaves the potatoes to descend the pendent riddle N, where they are deposited upon the surface of the ground. The action ot' riddle N is very effective in removing any dirt that may still adhere to them from the variety of motions which the bars receive' from moving over the uneven surface of the ground, they being free to move sidcwise, as well as vertically, and subject to verysudden and unequal vibrations. The forward points, F, of the side plates serve as mold-boards and retain the hills from sliding off the sides of the shoe, and, also, from the smooth inclined edges which they present, enable the vines to easily slide up till they fall upon the screen H and are carried over with the potatoes, obviating the difficulty from their clogging, which so frequently occurs.

The arrangement by which the working parts may be instantly raised by the operator and thrown out of gear or not, whereby he may control its operation at his will with perfect ease, together with the provisions for rendering it efficient in removing and separating the potatoes from the earth, while itis light, portable, and economical in cost, make it a reliable and valuable machine for the purpose to which it is adapted.

I am aware that shares and gratings or riddles have been employed for digging or plowing of potatoes and sepa-rating them from the earth, and such parts, separatelyconsidered, I do not claim; but

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination and arrangement ofy the shoe or share G, endless screen H, and pendent or supplementary7 riddle N with the frame A and side plates, D, sinuous slots C, and.

slotted levers It, operating conjointly, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

ROBERT NIVEN. .Witnessess J. FRASER, S. J. ALLIZ. 

